A method of cosmetic surgery, and more particularly to a technique of laser depilation for removing a hair from the skin of a subject by the exposure of the skin to a laser beam and peripheral implements therefor.
The laser has been finding utility in various applications and has been producing prominent results therein. In the application to the removal of creases and the removal of birthmarks, it has come to bring excellent results in the medical field and the cosmetic field. In the last few years, the technique of depilation using the laser has been reaching the stage of materialization and the range of applications of the laser in the field of cosmetics has been expanding. The treatments with the laser are performed on the basis of the common principle that the skin is irradiated with the laser of a wavelength fit for absorption exclusively by a particular substance subjected to a particular treatment.
In the case of the depilation with the laser, for example, the treatment of depilation is carried out by irradiating the skin with a laser of a wavelength fit for absorption by the color of the hair subjected to the treatment. This technique is capable of selectively rupturing both a hair embedded in the interior of the skin and the tissue giving birth to this particular hair and is at a great advantage in permitting easy and infallible depilation without requiring any more trouble than the other method of depilation.
The method of laser depilation described above, however, does not necessarily eliminate need of improvement. Specifically, since the maximum depth of reach which the laser beam is allowed to attain in the skin from the surface without affecting the surface tissue of the skin is in the approximate range of 3-5 mm, it is in fact difficult to make the laser beam reach a depth greater than this maximum. Granted that the laser beam barely reaches the depth of this order, though this laser beam may perform a satisfactory treatment on a thin hair (having the depth of hair root of 2-3 mm from the surface of the skin), it will encounter difficulty in effectively treating a thick hair (having the depth of hair root of 5-6 mm from the surface of the skin) which places a serious demand on the treatment. If the treatment is insufficient, it will possibly result in increasing the ratio of regeneration of the treated hair. The difficulty similarly arises in the removal of a crease or in the removal of a birthmark for the sake of cure. At present, it is an urgent problem to find a way of enabling the laser beam to reach a deep portion of the skin.
This invention, therefore, aims to effectuate efficiently a method for laser depilation by aforementioned method in a manner such that the laser beam used with the output thereof repressed to the extent of avoiding exertion of an adverse effect on the peripheral tissue may be enabled to reach a depth in the approximate range of 5-6 mm from the surface of the skin and also aims to provide, in addition to the technique of laser depilation, such implements as are applicable to the removal of a birthmark and the removal of a crease, i.e. the techniques which have the same problem as the aforementioned method, and capable of facilitating the treatments under discussion as well.
To solve the problem mentioned above, the method of this invention for laser depilation is based on a method of laser depilation resorting to exposure of the skin of a subject to a laser beam and is inteded to effect depilation by pulling out the subject""s skin and compressing it thereby deforming part of the skin into a flap and irradiating the region of the skin deformed into the flap with the laser beam. In this method of laser depilation, by causing a hair embedded in the skin to be laid sideways in accordance with a very simple procedure of deforming and compressing the skin thereby transforming the relevant part of the skin into a thin flap, it is made possible to irradiate the skin with a laser beam, with the root of the hair in a deep position approximated closely to the surface of the skin. Consequently, it is made possible to have the laser beam reach the subject of treatment such as the hair root without requiring to increase the output of the laser beam and bring about the same result as when the laser beam is made to reach a deep position.
For the purpose of implementing this method, it is necessary that the skin of a subject be pulled out till part thereof forms a flap and the skin thus transformed into the flap be retained in a compressed state. This action can be readily produced by the user of the method of this invention pinching the skin in his own hand. In this case, however, the user implementing the method of depilation is preferred to wear on his person such finger sacks or glove which is impervious to the laser beam in consideration of the possibility of his hand being irradiated excessively with the laser beam. The finger sacks or the glove mentioned above can be obtained as with a rubber composition incorporating therein a substance capable of absorbing and reflecting the laser beam.
The retention of the skin can be attained not only by resorting to the xe2x80x9chandxe2x80x9d as described above but also by utilizing a skin retaining device which is provided with a retaining means and adapted to permit irradiation of the skin retained in the form of a flap with the laser beam. The retaining means in this case has no particular restriction except for a requirement that it be capable of transforming the skin into a flap and compressing and meanwhile retaining the skin so transformed into the flap. It may be, therefore, constructed of something like tongs of a transparent substance pervious to the laser beam (hereinafter referred to simply as xe2x80x9ctransparent substance 38 ), something like tongs provided with an opening allowed to confront the skin transformed into a flap, or a suction pipe adapted to produce a negative pressure in the interior thereof and formed of a transparent substance. When what resembles tongs is used as the retaining means, the skin is compressed and meanwhile retained in the form of a flap by having the skin pinched between the opposite leading terminals of the retaining means. When the suction pipe having a flat generally elliptic cross section, for example, is used as the retaining means, the skin transformed into a flap inside the suction pipe is compressed and meanwhile retained by making the skin to be sucked into the suction pipe. Since the retaining means constructed as tongs or an absorption pipe is provided with an opening opposite the skin to be retained in the form of a flap or with a part formed of a transparent substance, the skin retained in the form of a flap can be freely irradiated externally with the laser beam.
Alternatively, the retaining means may be constructed by utilizing a roller which is capable of rotating. For example, the retaining means can be formed of a roller which is enabled to rotate by being connected to a driving means and a plate member separated from the roller across a minute distance and disposed parallelly to the rotational axis of the roller. Specifically, a retaining means having attached to one of the leading terminal faces of an implement shaped like tongs a roller having a rotational axis parallel to the other leading terminal face. In this retaining means, by turning the roller in the direction of rolling in the skin, the skin transformed in the form of a flap can be compressed and meanwhile pinched between the roller and the plate member. Otherwise, a retaining means can be constructed by causing a pair of rollers at least either of which is connected to a driving means to be disposed as separated from each other across a minute distance and, at the same time, enabled to have the rotational axes thereof laid parallelly to each other. Also in this case, by the rotating force of the roller, the skin is rolled in and the skin transformed in the form of a flap is pinched between the two rollers. Incidentally, in this case, by forming part of the roller or the plate member with a transparent substance, it is made possible to irradiate the skin externally with the laser beam.
Preferably, the skin retaining device mentioned above is provided at the position thereof confronting the skin retained, in the form of a flap with a laser beam emitting terminal. By combining the skin retaining device including tongs, a roller, or a suction part as a retaining means with the laser emitting terminal in one integral piece, it is made possible to carry out continuously the work of xe2x80x9ctransforming part of the skin into a flapxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cirradiating the skin transformed into a flap with the laser beamxe2x80x9d and consequently improve the work of depilation in efficiency. More preferably, the laser emitting terminal is adapted to scan automatically the whole surface of the skin transformed into a membrane. By so doing, the work of depilation can be expected to enjoy a further improvement in efficiency. Incidentally, for the purpose of alleviating the burden on the skin of the subject, the surface of the retaining means of this invention which is fated to contact the skin is preferred to be endowed with elasticity of a fixed magnitude.
Further, in the method of depilation explained above, the reflecting member for reflecting the laser beam is preferred to be disposed behind the region of the skin transformed into a flap and enabled to use the laser beam for irradiation. Consequently, the efficiency of depilation is allowed to be further improved because the laser beam which has penetrated the skin transformed into a flap is emitted again into the interior of the skin.
Though a popular reflecting mirror is used fully satisfactorily as the reflecting member in the present case, a glove or finger sacks adapted to reflect the laser beam on the outer surface thereof proves to be convenient for a person performing the method of laser depilation when he wears them during the course of the work. When the glove or the finger sacks constructed as described above are used, it is made possible to obtain the effect produced by the reflecting member mentioned above by simply retaining the skin in the form of a flap with a hand, placing a finger behind the skin, and irradiating the skin fronting this finger with the laser beam. For the purpose of obtaining this effect, the glove is not always required to be capable of reflecting the laser beam on the whole surface thereof but is only required to be capable of reflecting the laser beam on the part of xe2x80x9ccushionxe2x80x9d of the finger to be used in pinching the skin. Incidentally, the reflecting member may be used as combined with the skin retaining device mentioned above in one integral piece. What is obtained by providing an emitting terminal on the inner lateral surface of a retaining means shaped like tongs and, at the same time, forming a specular surface on the inner side of the retaining means, for example, may be regarded as a combination of a reflecting member with a skin retaining device.